FOUR'S A CROWD
by MokingBB
Summary: In the beginning it had seemed like a great idea, this foursome of theirs. But now, watching them together, Momoi Satsuki felt like she had made the worst mistake of her life. (OT4 with Kuroko/Kagami/Aomine/Satsuki, oh the drama...)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** Just to play it safe, I'm going to rate this M, but the actual steamy scenes will be posted somewhere else. Nonetheless, keep in mind that this is not about the conflicts of a couple nor a threesome but an actual **foursome**! Woohooo. This idea came to me whilst watching chapter 18 of KnB's latest season. I LIVE for character analysis, development and interaction, and watching all these characters and the chemistry I see between them, I just couldn't help myself and had to write this. Hopefully, you guys will find the story entertaining as well. Just expect heartache, mixed feelings, and (I hope) funny moments, as it's a KnB fic.

So, let's start, shall we? :D

**FOUR'S A CROWD **

**1**

Momoi Satsuki had made the worst mistake of her life. In the beginning it had seemed like a great idea, this foursome _thing_ of theirs. Unorthodox as it was, the change from friends to something else had felt natural for Satsuki and her boys. Not inevitable, mind you, not at all, but at the time choosing any other path would have resulted in heartache for all of them. She knew that if others found out about their... _Arrangement, _they would judge. But even though she had always cared for people's opinion, this thing the four of them now shared had been too special to let anyone else's opinion on the matter bother her. Besides, Satsuki had to admit that she had always been a little odd when it came to love.

To begin with, her first love had been basketball. Not what one would expect from a girlish girl in flowery dresses with ribbons all over her hair, but from an early age Satsuki had had trouble adjusting to conventions. Since she was a baby, her father had sat her on his lap and together they would watch game after game on an old tv set —her infant mind had immediately fell in love with the bright bouncy orange ball, the lively colors of the players' uniforms, their impossible jumps and improbable loops. And it had been her early passion for the game what led her to befriend their neighbor's nutcase son. The dark-skinned smirking little imp had tormented Satsuki from day one (with spiders and worms and all kinds of disgusting bugs), but he had also all but pulverized the park's local bullies when they tried to steal her ball. At first glance both kids didn't have anything in common, but they had both loved basketball more than anything in the whole wide world and so, after a while, they had soon come to realize that no one else was more fun to be with than each other. For as long as she could remember, Dai-chan had been the most important person in her life. Their childhood together had created an unbreakable bond between them and, for the longest time, Satsuki had sincerely believed that, stupid and disgusting and exasperating as he was, she wouldn't be able to love anyone as deeply as she loved Dai-chan.

However, soon they were in middle school and, when hormones kicked in, Satsuki learnt that there where other ways to love someone... It had been kind of ridiculous how hard and fast she had fallen for Kuroko Tetsuya —Tetsu-kun, who was Aomine's complete opposite; who was gentle and calm and so dismissible but with an iron will beneath it all; Kuroko, whose unwavering loyalty and determination had led him to fulfill his promise to Satsuki and brought back the old Dai-chan during that fateful winter cup (fateful because, as much as she liked to deny it, deep down she felt like only Fate could explain some of what had happened).

And she had felt so grateful then... Her heart had been so full of love for both despite the different feelings she held for each. That's why it was a bit ironic that the two of them —the one she was in love with and the one she loved the most—, would end hooking up before her very eyes. Truth be told, Satsuki should have seen it coming. Despite being the boob-lover that he was (and Dai-chan loved them from the very bottom of his heart), basketball was the measure of all things for him, and it had been Tetsu's unwavering loyalty and determination which had brought a smile back to his lips. In the court the two of them had always had a chemistry that was hard to miss and off it they still complemented each other beautifully: Aomine and Kuroko, Light and Shadow. And even if the whole Generation of Miracles fiasco had made them drift apart, it was an undeniable fact that they had been key players in each other lives.

Back in Teiko, Kuroko had been unable to help Aomine when he had needed it the most and the darker boy had carelessly hurt him in return. However, maybe precisely because they had lost each other once, they held on so tightly afterwards. They had hurt each other at one point, but before and after they had also inspired and protected one another. Aomine had been the first person to _see_ and believe in the invisible boy, had pushed Kuroko to discover his own worth and had helped him to go beyond his own self-imposed limits (and Satsuki would never forget how her heart had skipped a beat when she saw Tetsu's ball go through the loop for the first time). In return, Kuroko... Satsuki could hardly find the right words to explain everything that the quiet boy had done: he had taught Aomine to walk in another person's shoes, had humbled him and made him grow. But most important of all, Kuroko had found a way to awaken Aomine's love for basketball and, in the process, had brought back the spark of life to her friend's dull eyes. And _that_ made all the difference for Satsuki.

Even though logically she should have felt some kind of heartache when the two of them went from friends to lovers, at first she had actually felt glad for them. She couldn't deny the slight pang she had felt on her chest whenever she saw them smile at each other, of course, but for Satsuki Dai-chan's happiness had always come first, and Kuroko obviously made him happy.

Truth be told, nothing had really changed between the three of them after the two of them got together. When she was with them they behaved towards each other as they always had: they were still blunt and a bit emotionally retarded (one more than the other, mind you). And even though Dai-chan was a bit touchy-feely, he had always been like that. Actually, if she really thought about it, the one thing that really had changed was that all of them began to spend much more time together, and since most of that time was dedicated to playing basketball, a fourth was soon added to the mix: the fierce redhead that was Kuroko's new light, Kagami Taiga. And even if in the beginning Dai-chan had complained about Kagamin tagging along, he hadn't really fooled anyone: Satsuki and Kuroko could clearly see the delight on his face every time the redhead challenged him to a one-on-one.

Satsuki herself also found Kagami's presence somewhat of a blessing. Even though Kuroko and Dai-chan never did anything to make her feel like a third wheel, sometimes she still felt like she was intruding in their relationship when it was only the three of them, but when Kagamin was there... She genuinely liked him and she loved how he unwittingly brought out the playful side on Kuroko (and Nigou seemed to enjoy it just as much!). Similarly, lazy and apathetic as he was, Aomine came back to life playing against the fiery redhead and, amusingly, soon their little challenges began to spill out of the basket court: they would fight over who got to eat the last of the popcorn on movie night, over which flavor of pizza to order, over who got to exit a room first, over whose _ugly-mug_ was uglier. It was kind of ridiculous, specially because the childish behavior didn't diminish with time.

However, Satsuki couldn't help finding the whole situation... Odd. Because if _she_ had been going out with Kuroko, she'd have liked to horde him completely for herself. On the other hand, both Dai-chan and Tetsu-kun had seemed perfectly comfortable despite their lack of alone time. Weird as it was, she had no room to complain! The more the basket-idiots fought, the more time she had Tetsu-kun's attention all to herself and, even if she could never have him as a boyfriend, she could still share other things with him. Satsuki had always loved talking to Kuroko. He was an excellent listener and his opinion —soft-spoken but honest as it always was— had helped her see things from a different perspective time and time again. And so, even if at the end of the day Tetsu left with Aomine, she had still felt special.

That is, until she saw them kiss.

It happened one of those odd days when Kagami wasn't around. Satsuki herself was running late because she had had to stay after practice to finish a school project with a couple of classmates, and Dai-chan had headed on his own to their usual spot to hang out with Tetsu-kun till Satsuki could make it. When she arrived a couple of hours later, she found them exactly as she thought she would: playing basketball. Of course, Dai-chan's games with Kuroko where never near as... Intense, as his one-on-one with Kagami, but they were delightful to watch simply because the old light and shadow of Teiko still moved like clockwork. And regardless of how different their skills were, sometimes Kuroko managed to get past Aomine and when that happened, stupid Dai-chan let excitement get the better of him, and when _that_ happened, accidents were prone to occur. Satsuki arrived that day just in time to see Aomine elbow poor Tetsu-kun directly on his cute button nose as the latter bravely tried to stop quite an impressive dunk.

'Shit, Tetsu! I didn't mean to.'

Kuroko covered his aching nose with both hands and, even from a distance, Satsuki saw him glare ominously at Dai-chan, while the offender in question bit his bottom lip (his own expression a funny mix of 'upps' and concern).

'Aomine-kun is a brute,' declared Kuroko mercilessly, but the effect was quite ruined by his nasally voice and the unshed tears in his eyes.

'Sheesh, I said I was sorry, didn't I? Here, let me see.' And Aomine leaned in, trying to pry Tetsu-kun's hands from his face.

'I'll rather you didn't.'

'Just let me see.'

'Hm...' Resigned, Kuroko allowed the other to inspect his poor reddened nose, wincing as Aomine probed it with surprisingly gentle fingers.

'I don't think it's broken,' concluded Aomine with a loop sided grin.

'It better not be,' replied Kuroko, glaring still, 'otherwise _someone_ is going to be in trouble...'

Even as he frowned, Aomine's thumb shifted softly from the other boy's nose to his cheekbone.

'Tetsu...'

'It's fine,' said Kuroko at last, standing on his tip toes as he reached for Aomine's neck.

And as she saw the tender brush of lips, Satsuki's heart broke into a million pieces.

At the time she had truly though that she wasn't affected by the fact that they were together (that they were lovers). However, that instant was all it took to make her realize that she wasn't as selfless as she had believed herself to be. Incapable of holding back her tears, she had ran away before either could notice her and, heartbroken, lost and confused as she had been, she ended up in the only place that had felt safe at the time... Kagami's.

It didn't make sense really, that she would go to him, because even though they hung out nearly every day, they were not really friends. They didn't know each other for that long nor even all that well, not like she knew Dai-chan or Tetsu-kun. But when he opened the door after her thunderous knocking, and his scowl shifted to concern as he saw her crying, she threw herself at him and clung to his neck and cried against his chest, pouring her heart out for what felt like hours. However, most surprising of all was that the often rough redhead let her. Even if he had hesitated at first, Kagami had hugged her back gently and led her to the couch, where he had patiently lent her his shoulder to cry on and lean against. And Satsuki had done just that.

Much later, when her desperate crying had finally subsided, she had felt a little bit embarrassed. But he had merely shrugged his shoulders and handed her a big mug of hot chocolate, which was the sweetest and more delicious drink Satsuki had ever tasted. Afterwards, as he had sat again next to her on the couch while she sipped the tasty treat, she had felt comforted because even if Kagamin was no good with words, he somehow was able to make his actions speak for him.

'Thank you,' she had told him that day.

And he had simply shrugged his wide shoulders again in response.

'Such a pretty girl shouldn't cry.'

It had been a slip of the tongue, she knew because he turned bright red and apologized not a second later, but his bold words made her pause nonetheless. And when she saw him pick up her discarded tissues, when she saw him refill her empty mug with more of that delicious chocolate that he had made specially for her, Satsuki found herself thinking for the first time that Kagamin would be a very sweet boyfriend. Despite her tears, she felt a smile tug on her lips. And even though it would be months before the two of them would actually start dating (Kagamin was too much of a gentleman to take advantage of a girl in distress), in that precise instant Satsuki had begun seeing him under a different light.

In hindsight, she should have realized back then that it seemed like Fate was meddling again on their affairs, because it really was ironic that the first time that Kagami had laid eyes on her he had made her cry whereas now, when it was her seeing _him_ for whom he truly was for the first time, he was the one drying her tears and making her smile. Only the infamous Fate Dai-chan sometimes talked about could be so wry.

And knowing that, Satsuki should have been more weary because wherever fate meddled... Conflict was not far behind.

tbc

Sooo, I hope this sets an interesting start! I have most of the story written down except for the last chapter. Which means I'll be updating fairly regularly (it's a weird thing about me, I hardly ever start writing a story by the first chapter, which is often about the last thing I write, LOL). Please, good or bad, let me know what you think.

Cheers!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Hello everyone! First of all, I want to thank all of you who reviewed. Your encouragement is my muse! It really surprised me, though, that everyone seemed particularly excited about the Satsuki/Kagami pairing, that was unexpected, to say the least. However, I want to warn you again: even though theirs will be the first relationship to beexplored in this fic, do not forget this is the story of a foursome. And, heed my words! I LOVE complicating stuff. Cheers!

**2**

It was strange, having a boyfriend. She had spent so many years day dreaming about Kuroko Tetsuya, that now that she had the real thing... Well, she didn't really know what to do with it. It was ironic, though, that just like her dear Tetsu-kun had been the opposite of Dai-chan, Kagamin himself was the opposite of her lifelong sweetheart. Overall the whole thing didn't make much sense, but Satsuki was happy.

She liked spending time with the redhead. She particularly enjoyed teasing him because even though he had a short temper, he wasn't one to hold grudges (Kagami was quick to anger but even quicker to forgive, and she loved him for that). Satsuki had learnt early on that Kagamin was surprisingly good at taking things in stride and that, underneath his tough exterior and rough personality, he was unexpectedly very mature. She found out that he lived on his own and that he had for a while now, that he could cook, clean and generally take care of himself and behave like a responsible adult. And when she spent time with him, specially after being most of her life looking after Dai-chan, she felt like a responsible adult too as opposed to a mother hen. It was a nice feeling. What she had with Kagami felt real and solid. But sometimes... She wanted to be with him, she loved being his girlfriend —she liked how his huge hand completely covered her own; she loved his sweet goodbye kisses and his honest smile when he saw her in the mornings—, but sometimes, Satsuki couldn't help wondering what it would be like to share something like this with Kuroko because she had been dreaming about doing so for way too long. And when her imagination ran wild, she felt completely and utterly lost.

If she had a boyfriend that loved and made her happy, why couldn't she get over Tetsu-kun! More often than not she felt angry at herself but other times she blamed Kagami. Because he had to be responsible somehow. Because Satsuki had heard the girls in her class talk and most of them had gone all the way with their boyfriends whereas she and Kagamin... How was she supposed to fully give him her heart, soul and body if he didn't seem interested in the latest! It shamed her to admit it but even after months of going out together, they still had to do more than kiss. It disconcerted her and made her very self-conscious. She tried to think nothing of it. To smile and be patient and kind in return but...

Satsuki knew he was passionate. She could see it in his every action; in fact, one only had to see him play basketball (specially against a supposedly unbeatable opponent) to realize that every bit of the intensity he exuded was justified: his play was aggressive, risky, straightforward and, above all, passionate. However, when it came to her he suddenly became shy and kept his hands strictly to himself and, frankly, it was driving her up the walls. She didn't know what to do. For a while, she considered talking with one of her more experienced girl friends from school, but every time she tried to bring up the subject she felt like she was betraying Kagami somehow. However, that was not the only reason behind her tightly sealed lips: deep down, in a way, it also embarrassed her because maybe... Maybe it was all her fault. Maybe Satsuki wasn't pretty or attractive enough. That would definitely explain why Tetsu-kun had never spared her a second glance despite her obvious interest.

And once the self-doubt crept into her mind, Satsuki couldn't stop thinking about it.

'That doesn't make any sense, Satsuki,' complained Dai-chan pointing at the numbers in her notebook, 'You multiply it times seven, see? Oi, are you listening?'

Satsuki felt bad because she knew he was trying his best and Daiki hardly ever put any effort into anything that wasn't basketball. Trying to get rid of the depressing thoughts for the time being, she braved a smile for him and tried to concentrate on his explanation. This was a little secret of theirs that would astonish anyone who found out: since they were ten years old Satsuki had helped Dai-chan with most (if not all) of his homework and, in exchange, (and here came the unbelievable part) her childhood friend often helped her with her own Maths and Physics homework —because even though Dai-chan sometimes mixed the concepts since he hardly ever studied, he understood the mechanics and could figure out problems surprisingly quickly.

'Satsuki, are you listening? I said times seven,' he complained loosing his patience after her third mistake, 'Sheesh, you are such a spazz...'

Any other day, she would have swatted him in the head or returned the insult with some wittier retort, but today the feelings of worthlessness were eating her up inside, and the mockery got to her. Before she knew what was happening, she felt warm tears running down her cheeks. It was stupid, she knew it was stupid, but once she began crying Satsuki couldn't stop.  
'Hey, what's wrong? I was just joking! I don't really think you're a spazz.'

And seeing the actual concern in his face, the walls of her composure were completely destroyed. Soon she found herself blurting it all out to Dai-chan. She cried and cried and cried some more. Weeks of keeping her feeling bottled forced them to tumble out and she talked and talked till there was nothing left to confess.

That emptiness helped. Just getting it out of her chest helped her feel slightly better, even if nothing had really changed. It was beyond embarrassing, specially taking into account Dai-chan's lost expression, but now that the whole thing was out in the open, Satsuki wanted his honest opinion. The secret was out, there was nothing left to hide, so it made sense to make the best of the shameless confession and try to see the whole situation from a different perspective. That's the reason why, red in the face and with tear-streaks on her cheeks, she looked at Dai-chan expectantly and asked.

The poor boy actually floundered.

'Are you seriously asking me for advice?'

She had to admit that it was a bit embarrassing talking about her sex life (or lack thereof) with Dai-chan of all people but, awkward as it was for both of them, Aomine owed her, simple as that. They had seen each other at their most shameful so there was nothing to hide, not really. And if he attempted to mock her, she had plenty of blackmail and he knew it.

'Well, you are a guy too!' she replied trying to sound reasonable, 'And you play basketball with Kagamin every single day.'

'What does basketball have to do with anything?!' he countered back, 'We are not even friends and—'

But seeing the tears begin to well up again in her eyes, he stopped his macho-macho bull-crap and sighed loudly, running a hand through his short dark hair.

'Shit, Satsuki, I dunno...' But despite his words he lounged back in his chair as if readying himself for an awkward conversation, 'He probably thinks he's being a gentlemen or something. You do try to kick me pretty hard when I comment on your choice of underwear, so of course the poor guy is scared.'

It was her turn to stutter. That was NOT what she had been expecting.

'Excuse me?!' Satsuki cried out when she managed to get over some of her shock, 'Why would I kick him? He's my boyfriend and you are...' She hesitated, it was always difficult to find the right word to define Dai-chan, 'You are you!'

'So what?' he replied acting bored with the conversation, 'Sheesh, Satsuki, the idiot is probably waiting on you to take the first step. No big deal, really.'

'No big deal?! And what am I supposed to do? Tell him I want to... That I want him to... Gosh this is embarrassing!'

'Just shove your rack on his face. He'll be all over you in no time.'

'Aomine-kun!'

Slap!

'Oi, Satsuki! This is why the guy is scared shitless. See how you reacted just now?'

Satsuki was practically foaming at the mouth and blushing so badly that her face most certainly clashed with he hair, but despite it all she couldn't help considering Dai-chan's words. Could it really be that Kagami was concerned for her and was holding himself back till she let him know she was ready? Loath as she was to admit it, something so stupid and unnecessarily noble wouldn't be above Kagamin... The big idiot.

It relieved her because she still felt unsure and confused, but now there was a glimmer of hope. Satsuki let out a deep breath. However, she couldn't let Dai-chan realize that he might be on the right track.

'Do you always have to be such a pervert?!' she said as she grabbed the notebook and began going over his chicken scratch next to her own bubbly numbers. 'You know nothing about girls anyway.'

'I know plenty about women!' he replied as he brought his chair closer to hers again to peer over her shoulder at her calculations.

'Slobbering over those disgusting gravure magazines of yours doesn't count as experience.'

'Hey! Don't you dare mess with Mai-chan. And I don't slobber.'

Sasuki chuckled and he frowned. Nevertheless, through the corner of her eye she saw Dai-chan's expression soften and his lips quirk a tiny bit when he thought she wasn't looking. And so, tension gone, the duo reviewed the problem again till she got it right. But later, when he was picking up his stuff to go home, he surprised her yet again:

'For real, Satsuki,' he drawled in that particular way of his that feigned disinterest, but the way he kept shuffling papers to avoid looking at her gave him away, 'Kagami is a dude. Show interest and he'll do whatever you want. Just don't be subtle about it, after all this is Bakagami you are dealing with. He doesn't do subtle.'

Satsuki blushed again but nodded.

'Thanks, Dai-chan...' she told him softly.

And in response he ruffled the top of her head gently, as he sometimes did to Tetsu-kun. Tetsu... Her heart flickered for a moment like a bird within its cage. Now that she though about it, even though she had all but poured her heart out to Dai-chan, he had never actually told her anything about his own relationship with Kurorko. Did the two of them ever fight? She had to wonder. Satsuki knew that back when they had been only friends the two of them had sometimes had petty squabbles and misunderstandings which were quickly forgotten. However, when it came to actual serious arguments, both had always been infuriating. The bad thing about Dai-chan and Tetsu-kun (the one thing they had in common, unfortunately) was that when they got really angry at something or someone, they both wanted to be left alone, so when they fought (really fought) afterwards they never talked about it, probably not even with each other.

And now that they were a couple...

'Hey, Daiki...' she began softly.

Aomine grunted in acknowledgment and stretched his arms high above his head, getting out the kinks.

'Hm?'

Satsuki played with her hair and shuffled her feet, making one of his eyebrows rise in amusement.

'Dai-chan, you never tell me anything about Tetsu-kun,' she said at last, choosing her words even more carefully when she saw how he lost absolutely all expression from his face. 'I know you don't like talking about it, so I won't ask but... You know you can tell me anything, right? I was in love with him but it's alright, ok? Now I have Kagamin. I am happy and I'm happy for you too. So, yeah, I'll listen if you ever, you know, need to talk, alright?'

She felt awkward because Aomine kept looking at her with that blank expression that she couldn't understand. It unnerved her because she was used to reading him like an open book.  
'Dai-chan...'

He licked his lips and seemed to consider his words just as carefully as she had seconds ago.

'Tetsu is different,' he said at last.

'Different? Different how?'

But he closed off then. Completely. And Satsuki, who knew him better than anyone, realized that she wouldn't be able to pry a single word on the subject out of him now. When Aomine didn't want to deal with something he became unreachable.

And despite being worried, she tried to let it go because the very next day both her friends behaved as they always had: comfortable in each others' presence and utterly happy to be together. On the other hand, the easygoing manner they treated each other with gave her something to think about and provided her with the courage to face her own issues with Kagamin. And so, that afternoon, when she found herself alone with the redhead in his house watching a movie, she followed Dai-chan's advice. Blushing to the roots of her hair, she made her move and even though he blushed just as badly, he got the hint incredibly quickly —after all, Kagamin had always been a man of actions rather than words. And despite his claims of not being Kagami's friend, Dai-chan had been surprisingly perceptive about him. It made Satsuki feel a little silly because she was Kagami's girlfriend, and so she should have known better. They were both idiots, though, so that had to count for something.

That night, Satsuki and Kagami had sex for the first time. The whole experience was nothing like Satsuki had imagined it would be. To begin with, in her fantasies the body next to her had always been considerably smaller and paler, but the Tetsu of her dreams had been no less gentle than Kagami was that night. The real thing, though... It hurt and it was uncomfortable and somewhat embarrassing, but when he kissed her sweetly and told her in that simple but honest way of his how beautiful she was, Satsuki felt special. How could she have ever doubted his attraction to her, she now wondered, when it was so clear in his eyes. And afterwards, when the two of them laid together in his bed, warm under the covers, she felt closer to him than ever before. It was kind of stupid how things could change so much, how feelings could evolve, after something so simple as sex. But for some unexplainable reason, as she laid there in his arms, she felt safe, loved and happy.

She ran her fingers up and down his strong arms, feeling him drift gradually to sleep and charmed she watched him drift of, strangely warmed by his soft snoring. In her dreams, Kuroko had never snored. Kuroko... What would it feel like to be in his arms now? To have shared something so special with him rather than Kagami? Surprised by her treacherous thoughts, Satsuki hid her face in the crook of her boyfriend's neck and willed herself to sleep. But despite her efforts, now that invisible boy had entered her mind, she couldn't stop thinking about him... Because Aomine had said that Tetsu-kun was different and she couldn't help wondering how. Because despite her feelings for Kagami (feeling that she had believed strengthened mere minutes ago), Tetsu-kun had been her first love and she had imagined being with him so many times that it just felt right and natural to think of him now.

And so, even if she fell under Morpheus' spell wrapped in Kagami's arms, the one she dreamt about was not him.

Tbc.

Alrighty! Let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you guys who reviewed. I hope the story gets more and more interesting with every chapter. Sorry for the slow progression, but the hints for future conflict have to be there from the start. :)

**3**

High school went by for Satsuki in the blink of an eye. Basketball practice and tournaments, victories and defeats, afternoons playing street ball, exams, movie nights, lazy sundays and more basketball in the evenings. Dai-chan began taking his basketball as seriously as he once had, and nothing in the world could have made her happier. At the same time, Satsuki grew even closer to Kagamin and at one point had even formally introduced him to her parents as her boyfriend. During that crazy dinner Dai-chan had done as much as was in his power to make the poor redhead uncomfortable in front of his future "in laws" but, once Kagamin had politely bowed his goodbyes, her childhood friend had assured Satsuki's parents that Kagami Taiga couldn't be a more decent guy. Satsuki could have slapped him right then and there, but inside she had been grateful for his support because even though her parents trusted her, for some unfathomable reason they had always trusted him more when it came to her choice in boys!

Since middle school Aomine had basically scared away any boy who tried to propose Satsuki. And even if she found the idea of an intimidating Dai-chan absolutely ridiculous, for some reason other boys all but crapped their pants when Tōō's power forward even glanced their way. It should have annoyed her, except that she hadn't really liked any of those boys that Dai-chan had scared away, and since he never seemed to have a single real complain about her interest in Testsu-kun nor her dating of Kagamin... Well, Satsuki had never considered putting a stop to the annoying habit, though it still baffled her that her own parents would trust_ Dai-chan's_ judgement more than her own daughter's (Dai-chan's! Whose opinion on girls was completely biased by their cup size. Unbelievable).

Truth be told, however, Kagamin had managed to charm Satsuki's parents all on his own: her father had liked how he had tried to behave like a proper gentleman _(though his eyebrows certainly look a bit crazy, Satsuki-chan, let's just hope it's not inheritable for the sake of your future kids... / Daaad!)_, and her mother had all but pinched his cheeks when he offered to help to pick up the table and wash the dishes _(oh my, he looks so gruff but he's actually adorable, Satsuki-dear / Mom, please!)_. The night had gone surprisingly smoothly, even with Dai-chan's (and her parent's) teasing. However, later, when both boys had gone home, her slacker of a father had fallen asleep on the couch and it was just Satsuki and her mom tidying up the table, her mother surprised her by saying:

'Kagami-kun... What a curious young man. He didn't say much about himself, did he?'

Confused, Satsuki stopped folding the napkin between her fingers and looked at her mother across the table.

'There's not really much more to Kagamin, mom. He loves basketball. He loves food. And I think he loves me. He's a good person. That's all.'

Her boyfriend wasn't a mystery like Kuroko. No, Kagamin was reliable and stable and there. Maybe he wasn't what she had spent her life dreaming about, but he was what she needed.

'Oh, yes, I can tell he's a honest person. But I wonder... He hardly said anything about his family, did he? What did he tell us his father did for a living? I seem to have forgotten.'

Giving up on trying to fold the stupid napkin, Satsuki dropped it on the table.

'Some kind of CEO for an international company or something. Sheesh, mom, what does it matter?'

Her mother shrugged, putting forks and knives on a single plate to carry them to the kitchen.

'I was just thinking that it must be difficult, being so young and having to look after himself. In any case, I wasn't expecting someone like Kagami-kun, Satsuki dear.'

A complain was on her mouth from the very start, but it was that last part that made her pause.

'What... What do you mean?'

Her mother shrugged.

'Oh, don't get me wrong, he's perfectly nice, but I always though that the day you introduced us to your boyfriend, well... I guess I always thought Tetsu-kun would be the one.'

Satsuki had thought so too. Uncomfortable, she began packing plates one on top of the other.

'Actually, mom... Tetsu-kun is seeing someone else. He's been for a while now,' it felt awkward to say so and, at her mother's surprised expression, she couldn't help thinking: _If only you knew_ who.

'Oh dear, I didn't know that. When did that happen? I always believed Tetsu-kun was, how should I put it, a late bloomer...'

Satsuki cleared her throat.

'It's ok, I love Kagamin. And I'm all over Tetsu-kun. I'm happy he found someone else.'

It sounded fake to her own ears, and her mother must had found it odd too, because soon her own eyes took a thoughtful sheen. Poking her lips with one perfectly manicured finger, the older Momoi said:

'Actually, it's kind of silly...'

'What is, mom?'

'Kagami-kun, he couldn't be more different from Kuroko-kun, don't you agree?'

'So what? I like Kagamin,' she set the plates down and crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly feeling defensive. It was stupid, her mother was not accusing her of anything nor was she implying anything at all, but Tetsu-kun was and would always be a touchy subject for Satsuki.

Nevertheless, her mother's eyes widened at her response.

'No reason to get upset, Satsuki. You'll get wrinkles from that much frowning. Besides, I can't help it if I find it funny...'

Satsuki inspected her brow in the curved reflection of a spoon. No wrinkles. Good.

'What could you possibly find funny? Could you please cut the chase? You are making me nervous.'

'Well... Kagami-kun kind of reminds me a little bit of Dai-chan, don't you think?'

Please, deep down the only thing the two of them had in common was their love for basketball. Both were Tetsu-kun's opposite, true (she had thought about the irony before), but despite that they couldn't be more different from each other.

'What are you talking about, mom? Kagamin is tidy, thoughtful, mature... He's everything Dai-chan isn't!'

Her mother didn't seem convinced.

'Whatever you say, Satsuki-dear. But they got along surprisingly well.'

Satsuki blinked, confused even further by the statement.

'So what?!'

The whole cryptic conversation was upsetting her. What on Earth was her mother trying to say?

'It's nothing, Satsuki, as I said, I just found it funny,' picking up the plates that Momoi had previously piled up, her mom began walking towards the kitchen. However, just when Satsuki though the whole thing was finally over, she heard her mother say: 'It's funny because dear Daiki doesn't have many friends, does he? Not since middle school. So it surprised me to see how well the three of you get along, that's all.'

Frustrated, Satsuki watched her mom's small back disappear through the door and sighed in defeat. The whole conversation had left her with a sour taste in her mouth. She felt like her mother had been trying to tell her something, something important, and for the life of her she couldn't get what that was! She hated when her parents pulled this kind of stuff on her. Age didn't make people wiser, just crazier!

'Mom?' she called as she entered the kitchen.

And her mother, who had just finished putting the plates in the dishwasher, walked to her and poker her playfully on the forehead.

'What did I tell you about frowning?' her expression softened though as she looked up at Satsuki, 'In any case, I really liked Kagami-kun. I'm happy you two found each other.'

Satsuki nodded and tried to keep those words close to her heart.

'I'm glad too.'

...

Months passed by surprisingly quickly. And before Satsuki knew it, High School was about to be over and important life decisions had to be made. What did Satsuki want to do with herself? She had a vague idea, but nothing set. She was certain both Dai-chan and Kagamin would continue playing Basketball, but she didn't want to stay a manager forever. She though about studying something related to Basketball, though, like Sports Medicine or Nutrition. But she couldn't really make up her mind, so in the end she thought she should just follow her father's footsteps. Satsuki had inherited her analytic skills and knowledge from her mother, who was a doctor in the local hospital, but her father had studied Business Administration and was basically a jack of all trades who had become a sports commentator due to his passion for the game.

When she told the others, Dai-chan actually laughed in her face (because Satsuki had always admired her mom but had been unfairly harsh in the past when it came to her dad) but Kagamin had been supportive and Tetsu-kun... Tetsu-kun had surprised her yet again.

She supposed that it made sense that such an extreme specialist like Kuroko wouldn't attempt to make it into professional Basketball, a sport that valued flexibility and an ample set of skills in all its athletes regardless of the position they played in. However, she couldn't have been more surprised when he expressed an interest in teaching. And the mental image of Kuroko ushering a bunch of little boys and girls inside a classroom made her fall in love with the gentle boy all over again!

Kuroko had seemed somewhat nostalgic when he told the three of them about his own plans for the future, and when a confused Kagamin asked him why he was willing to give up basketball, Tetsu-kun had answered with his characteristic bluntness:

'I achieved my dreams. I fulfilled my promise to Momoi-san,' and her heart skipped a beat at his words and more so when Kuroko nodded at her before turning to regard Aomine, 'I made my former team-mates acknowledge my Basketball' he said (to which Dai-chan smirked softly) before shifting his soulful eyes to Kagamin: 'and I helped Kagami-kun become number one player in Japan. I've done all that I set out to do and even more.'

Kagami regarded him silently, as always a bit uncomfortable in the face of Kuroko's extreme sincerity.

'You always say the most uncomfortable things so easily!' he complained trying to fight down a blush. However, as soon as he sobered up, he added with a little bow of his head: 'But, Kuroko, thank you. I wouldn't have made it without you, not in the right way, at least.' And he sent a sidelong glance to Aomine then, making the darker male cross his arms over his chest and tch subtly. Turning back to look Tetsu in the eyes, Kagami smiled widely and sincerely. 'I enjoyed every minute I played. And I owe it to you. Thank you, Kuroko.'

Tetsu smiled back somewhat timidly, but with pride and happiness reflecting clearly in his own eyes.

Satsuki chuckled quietly to herself because they all truly owed Kuroko. The spirit the quiet boy had instilled Seirin with had inspired others and led his team to the very top. As their ace Kagami had pushed them to victory and in the process he got recognition as Japan's number one player. Not a year later, Aomine —whose passion for Basketball had been revived and who had started practizing again and thus getting back in shape—, followed suit, but his victory had been a close one, because any team with Kagami and Kuroko playing together would always be a rival to be reckoned!

And Satsuki had been there every step of the way, seeing her boys fight, stumble, fall and pick themselves back up again. It had been a tough journey, but an interesting one non the less. And now that it was coming to an end, now that they had to prepare themselves for a new adventure, well... Satsuki felt like she had no reason to be afraid as long as the four of them remained together. That's why what happened on that quiet evening of their last day of class shocked her to her very core. Because she had been expecting anything but something like what Kagami pulled on them.

Her boyfriend had been acting weird for weeks before he actually dropped the bomb but when Satsuki had expressed her concerns, he had merely grunted in response, uncharacteristically dodging the topic. Truth be told, Satsuki hadn't really given his unusual secretiveness too much thought because she had concluded that such wariness was probably due to their final exams (Kagamin had never been a good student, so of course he was anxious about fucking up at the very end). That's the reason why, when he finally revealed what had been on his mind, she had been completely unprepared...

That day had been no different from any other. After saying their goodbyes to their respective team-mates, the four of them had met on basketball court near Seirin's School to spend their evening playing like they had been doing nearly every afternoon since that fateful winter cup.

Kuroko had sat on the bench by the court halfway through the game, unable to keep up with the two basketball beasts that where his boyfriend and his best friend. And despite herself, Satsuki enjoyed the quiet proximity. She always felt at peace when Tetsu-kun was near so, subtly, she observed Kuroko as he watched the other two play.

'Kagami-kun looks tired,' he told her quietly. 'Is he alright?'

'He hasn't been sleeping well,' replied Satsuki, a bit concerned herself, 'the exams are probably taking their toll on him.'

'Hmm.'

In front of them, Aomine scored again and slapped Kagami harshly on the back of the head.

'What the fuck, Ahomine?!' complained Kagamin, rubbing his aching head as he glared at his rival.

'Your heart isn't into it, Bakagami,' replied Dai-chan, letting go of the ball and walking towards Satsuki and Kuroko. _Game over_, his whole body language said. 'You are no fun like this.'

Kagami actually went red in the face.

'I don't play to amuse you, stupid!'

Aomine merely yawned quite rudely and continued stretching, waving his hand dismissively. When he reached the pair on the bench close to the court, he let himself drop to the ground next to Tetsu's feet. The pale boy complained when Dai-chan leaned his sweaty head against his knee, but Satsuki saw his fingers card through the short dark strands affectionally. She sighed resignedly and turned to look at Kagamin, but he looked wary again as opposed to angry.

The redhead had picked up the ball and now held it front of himself as he shifted nervously.

'Is something the matter, Kagami-kun?' asked Tetsu-kun suddenly, speaking out loud Satsuki's concerns.

Kagami froze, his fingers clutching the ball tightly. He opened his mouth, but seemed to think better of it as he closed it again.

'Oi, speak up, Bakagami,' drawled Aomine, draping an arm over Kuroko's knees to lounge against it as he peered up at his rival.

The insult seemed to do the trick. Anger apparently gave Kagami the edge he needed to voice his thoughts aloud.

Clutching in one hand the silver ring that hung from his neck, Kagami said:

'I've spoken with Tatsuya.'

And that had to be the last thing Satsuki had been expecting.

'Himuro-san?' she wondered, 'What about him?'

Kagami swallowed loudly. Satsuki knew Himuro was like a brother to her boyfriend and that after the reconciliation during the Winter Cup both had been keeping in touch. However, it had been nearly a year since the slightly older boy had gone back to the States to start College abroad and Kagami hardly ever talked about him.

'I've spoken to Tatsuya,' he repeated, 'and he's made me realize that I have a much better chance of becoming a professional basketball player over there. If I get to play for a big name university in the States, later I might be able to play at a professional level.'

Satsuki was so surprised that her mind went completely blank, numb, because how could he decide something so huge without consulting her (her girlfriend of two years!) before? Not a single word, at that. Nothing. Satsuki considered herself an understanding girlfriend, she wouldn't have asked him to give up his chances of achieving his dream for her, but that he hadn't even considered _talking_ to her before deciding to move abroad... It hurt. And the lump in her throat got even worse when Kagami looked straight at her with regret and sadness clear in his expressive eyes.

'I'm going to apply to a couple of these universities,' he told her, his voice cracking ever so slightly. But then, the most surreal thing happened, because his eyes shifted ever so slightly to Kuroko with an apology visible in his every move, before looking straight at Aomine. 'And you should apply too.'

Satsuki froze in the spot. So did Aomine and Kuroko.

Shaking his head as if to clear it, Dai-chan stood up.

'What the fuck are you on, Bakagami? You know my English is crap and how the fuck do you expect me to pay for a "big name" university overseas, dumbass?' his arms opened wide to express his frustration, 'How stupid can you get? Unlike yours, my folks aren't exactly load—'

'If you are recruited you won't have to pay a cent!' cut it Kagami, 'And your English doesn't even have to be very good' Despite his anger at his rival's insults, Kagami's expression was completely serious. 'I mean it, Aomine. With your skills, there is no way they would turn you down.'

Satsuki couldn't believe her ears. Kagami's disregard of her relationship had been bad enough, but this... _This —_Satsuki had no words to describe the anger that began welling inside of her. Who did Kagami think he was to decide what was best for Dai-chan?! Looking after the dumb boy had been her purpose in live for as long as she could remember, the dummy relied on her for every little thing and they had been joined at the hip since practically the day they were born! Kagami had no right. However, what scared her the most was that she actually saw Dai-chan pause at Kagami's crazy proposal.

Her childhood friend regarded the redhead silently, as if judging the other's true motives, which unnerved her even more since she knew that Aomine would only find sincerity in his rival's stare (mistaken or not, Kagami always did what he thought was right). And so, she felt her heart sink slowly in her chest and a surge of anger towards her so called boyfriend like she'd never experienced.

Aomine suddenly shifted, snapping her out of her furious thoughts. Looking somewhat lost underneath his bravado, Daiki glanced at her for a couple of seconds (as if searching for something in her) but when the only thing he encountered was her utterly confused expression, his jaw clenched and his eyes shifted to the impassive Kuroko. In the face of Tetsu-kun's stunning composure, Aomine seemed to visibly relax. However, before Dai-chan had a chance to speak, Kagami approached him and touched his arm gently, asking him to wait, and the redhead himself crouched in front of the bench in between Satsuki and Kuroko.

'My parents' old home in LA is still there,' he said, choosing his words very carefully, as if afraid to offend them, 'they won't care if I use it, and it's big enough for four.'

Could he...? She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

'Kagami-kun...' began Kuroko, once again echoing her confusion and voicing it.

'Let me finish!' Kagami said with a desperate note in his gruff voice, 'Please.'

Satsuki had never wanted to insult someone so badly before, but Kuroko beat her to it... However, he didn't say what she had been expecting.

'Go on.'

Kagami muttered a quiet "thank you" before clearing his throat and turning to look at his baffled girlfriend. Would wonders never cease? He hadn't actually forgotten about her then...

'Satsuki,' he started hesitantly, 'you said you were thinking of going to a business school, right? The Universities I'll be applying to have some of the best business administration programs in the world!' he grasped her hands in his large ones and in his excitement he couldn't help standing up again. Turning to the straight-faced Tetsu, he continued: 'And you would have plenty of collages to chose from too, Kuroko! I've browsed some of their web pages and there are courses on literature, creative writing, foreign languages, just the kind of thing you like! You could be a teacher in no time! In fact, there are plenty of scholarships you both can apply for and, even if you didn't get one, in the States it's normal to find part-time jobs that help pay for studies.'

Satsuki was speechless. And the whole situation became even more surreal when Aomine actually laughed loudly and slung an arm over Kagami's shoulders.

'Look at you,' he said amused, 'you have thought out every little detail! I'm impressed, Kagami.'

And wether it was due to the compliment or because of the light teasing present in Dai-chan's voice, Kagamin blushed.

'Shut up, stupid,' he said before adding rather shyly: 'I want to do this. But I don't want to do it alone.'

Aomine smirked widely and kicked Kuroko softly on the foot.

'Oi, Tetsu, what do you say? Want to live the American dream?'

Dai-chan could joke about this as much as he wanted, but Satsuki could see how serious he was deep down. Her dumbass childhood friend was actually considering Kagami's plan! And Tetsu could see it too. The two boys regarded each other quietly for a few seconds, communicating in that strange way of theirs that Satsuki had never understood. But one thing was clear to her: Aomine was leaving the final decision on Kuroko's hands. She felt a pang inside because, even though the two of them were a couple, the person who had spent her life taking care of the idiot had been her. Didn't she have a say in the matter? Was it fair to leave the whole decision on Kuroko's hands? It unnerved her terribly because even though she could read Dai-chan like an open book, Tetsu-kun was another story.

Feeling everyone looking at him, Kuroko's big wide eyes settled on Kagami and, to Satsuki's utter astonishment, he asked:

'What about Nigou?'

That's it. No refusal, no complains, no nothing.

Kagami paled at the mention of the "beast". He looked left and right, as if trying to find and scape, but at the end he shrugged nervously and nodded.

'Ummm... My house has a garden?' he stuttered, turning the statement into a question but visibly resigning himself to live with the dog.

The smile that suddenly appeared on Kuroko's face was brilliant and Satsuki... Satsuki felt at a loss...

'Oi, Satsuki,' called Dai-chan un-expectantly, making her rise her head to look at him. There was a slight note of concern in his face, nearly imperceptible to anyone who didn't know him. And Satsuki wondered why on Earth did he dare to look worried now, when the three of them had decided what to do without considering her part of the equation.

Satsuki looked away from him, a deep sense of betrayal making her hide from them. Her fingers clenched tightly the fabric of her skirt, wrinkling it. And suddenly Kagami was crouching in front of her again, placing one of his large hands on top of her trembling fingers.

'Will you come live with me?' he asked with burning cheeks but eyes full of hope, 'With us?'

Surprised, Satsuki rose her head and looked at the three of them. Next to her, Tetsu-kun smiled reassuringly and in the background Dai-chan offered her his crooked grin whilst one of his sharp eyebrows rose an as if in challenge.

'But...' she started.

'Please,' interrupted Kagami. 'At least think about it. We could make this work. All four of us.'

He was being sincere. Her opinion was important for him. Maybe not enough to dissuade him, but he wanted her to say yes. She could see it in the expectant look in his eyes, in the way his fingers clutched hers so tightly that it was nearly painful, in the way he licked his dry lips anxiously. Stupid as it sounded, she felt like he was putting his heart on her hands. And it was up to her wether to break it go along with his crazy idea.

'I...' her own throat felt dry. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know what to think.

But suddenly, as mad as the whole thing still sounded in her head, and despite knowing that her poor parents would freak out when she told them what she was considering on doing, Satsuki felt a twinkle of excitement spark in her chest. Because, maybe, if the four of them remained together, things would work out in the end, wether they were in Japan or in the other side of the world.

Shaking her head, she let out a slightly desperate laugh.

'Alright,' she said at last, 'let's give this crazy plan of yours a chance.'

Kagami let out a huge breath, sighing in relief, whilst Aomine slapped him in the back, barking with laughter. Kuroko nodded softly at her, and despite all her misgivings, she felt like she had made the right decision. She felt at peace with herself.

And couple of months later, when she found herself on a plane on her way to the United States of America with Kagami on the seat beside her and Aomine and Kuroko on the ones just in front of her, most of her apprehension had banished. Of course the prospect of a new live scared her, but she also felt excitement: she had finished School with a brilliant academic record so at the end she had been admitted into one of the best business schools in the world. She would be by Dai-chan's side as he made his way to the top alongside her boyfriend, and her beloved Tetsu-kun —who fought and persevered and always found a way to make things right— would be with the three of them every step of the way. She would have everything a girl her age could ever dream of, a place for herself and her boyfriend which she would share with her two best friends in the world!

What she hadn't known as she fell asleep against Kagami's strong shoulder on that flight towards their new life, was that they four of them would end up sharing more than just a living space. And if her naive self of back then had known what the situation would turn out to be like in the end, she would have broken up with Kagami the moment he made his crazy proposition. But at the time, she hadn't known any better and the worst was yet to come.

Tbc.

I swear we are getting closer to the actual foursome now. and that's when the real drama will start. Review!


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Hi, first of all sorry for the delay. I aim to update this story once every week, but sometimes other things get in the way… L Oh, well. Second, thanks a lot for all the wonderful reviews. Every comment makes me sooooo ahppy, but long reviews, where you guys actually take the time to give your impressions on the characters, their reactions, etc, that takes the cake! So thank you.

**4**

The first few months in the States were fantastic. Maybe if it had been just Satsuki on her own, she would have found starting anew in a foreign country more difficult. But somehow everything seemed to come together nicely. College was a challenge, her courses interesting, her teachers understanding and her peers friendly. Even though Kagamin had assured her that people in LA were generally very open minded and that the Asian Community was particularly huge, Satsuki had had her reservations. She needn't have to: she fit in right from the start.

It was a good change of pace too, meeting new people as it meant broadening her circle of friends beyond her boyfriend and two best friends. The break from basketball was also kind of refreshing, it was still a very important part of her every day life (how couldn't it be when she lived with whom she lived) but simply being able to discuss philosophy and politics with other people, or even a simple movie or book, was new and _fun_. However, and even though she was quite popular and had made many different friends, no one ever surprised or engaged her as deeply as _he_ did. Tetsu-kun, whose particular view of the world —observant and pragmatic but idealistic all the same— would never cease to amaze and enlighten her. Kuroko Tetsuya was something else...

'Have you heard the rumors?' A girl whispered to her friend at the entrance of the Library. 'The seventh floor of is definitely haunted. A freshman nearly had a heart attack the other day. People say there's a ghost there...'

Satsuki chuckled to herself and made her way to the elevator. She was a frequent visitor of the lonely place and so was well acquainted with the so called ghost that haunted its halls. The elevator doors chimed opened and, fearless, she pressed the button for infamous the 7th Floor.

Each and every floor in the Library was huge, but this one, the foreign languages section, was different from all others. Maybe it was because the space was hardly used and thus hadn't undergone the modernization that other floors had gone through. Whatever the case, in between the low evening light filtering through stained glass windows, the antique tiled floors and the sturdy wooden bookcases crammed with ancient tomes, the Seventh Floor did feel like some kind of crypt. No wonder people expected a ghost to roam its walls. However, no ordinary spirit haunted this floor... Whatsmore, the ghost in question could be quite absentminded.

'Shouldn't you be cataloguing books or something,' said Satsuki, voice loud and clear on the empty hall, 'I thought that was what librarians supposedly did, Tetsu-kun.'

The boy in question actually jumped in his perch, unused as he was to being spotted. Kuroko, with his nose buried in some heavy tome, had been sitting on the top step of the ladder that helped get the books from the highest shelfs. Big eyes roaming around the huge room, his lips quirked into a lovely smile when they found Satsuki's.

'Momoi-san,' he greeted polite as ever, 'my section is perfectly organized, but this tome had been misplaced. I was about to put it back in its rightful place.'

'Misplaced, huh?' she asked with her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face which looked completely fake. 'And you had to read it through, didn't you? Form the start to the end.'

'Of course,' he replied, expression serious despite the playful glint in his eye. 'I might need to re-categorize it, after all.'

'Oh my, Tetsu-kun, what a responsible librarian you are. You have to be careful, though, rumor has it that there is a really naughty ghost on this floor...'

Tetsu blinked innocently, and Satsuki could barely hold in her laughter.

'A ghost?'

'Yeah. They say a ghost is really in charge of this floor and that's why no other students ever visit it. It must be lonely for you... Having to hide from a ghost with nothing to do all day but read.'

Kuroko scratched his head.

'But Momoi-san, I've been here the whole time and there's is no ghost.'

Satsuki gave in and laughed. Kuroko always managed to get her to smile. And apparently, seeing her happy made him smile as well, because his lips curved ever so slightly at her reaction. Closing the book on his lap with a definite slap, Kuroko put it back in the shelf and climbed down the ladder to meet her on the ground.

'What can I help you with, ma'am?'

Satsuki chuckled again (and tried to fight down a blush at being called ma'am by him).

'Stop it, silly. And I came to pick you up. Isn't it time for you to wrap up for the day?'

Kuroko's eyebrows rose on his forehead when he glanced at the clock next to the elevator. And Satsuki knew from his expression that he had indeed lost track of time during his reading. Inconvenient as it was, she found this absentmindedness unexpectedly adorable...

'Oh, our idiot boyfriends should be ready to go too,' he said, walking to the counter to pick up his bag, 'let's hurry, Momoi-san, before they kill each other.'

Momoi nodded and let him close the floor for the night, turning the lights off and together they left the seventh floor and the library, walking towards the basketball courts.

Walking side by side with Kuroko through the campus always was one of the highlights of her day. They didn't have to talk about anything really, simply walking side by side enjoying each other's company made her happy. Their arms brushed and Satsuki wished she could reach out and grab his hand, hold her in hers. But intense as that desire was, she knew it would have been inappropriate. What would Kuroko think and do if she tried to? What would Kagamin say if he saw his girlfriend holding her former crush's hand?

'We need to buy food for Nigou on our way back,' said Tetsu-kun, his gentle voice not disturbing the pleasant silence they had been sharing.

'Right,' she answered, 'and more cereal for Kagamin…'

Kuroko shared with her a knowing smile that made her weak on the knees.

'Poor Kagami-kun...' he chuckled to himself. 'He couldn't eat his fruit loops.'

And Satsuki had to admit that Kagamin's face upon finding the empty box in the shelf that morning had been a poem.

'Dai-chan doesn't even particularly care for them,' chuckled Satsuki, remembering the unshed tears in Kagami's eyes as he shook disheartened the empty package in a desolate attempt of finding at least one of the colorful sugary loops.

Kuroko lowered his face in order to hide his smile.

'Aomine-kun just eats them to spite him. Poor Kagami-kun.'

Speaking of which, she could see her idiot boyfriend in a considerably more cheerful mood by the door to the gym. And Satsuki had to admit that when she saw him like this, fresh out of the shower and with a bright smile on his lips, he looked unexpectedly handsome. In moments like this the redhead had about him some kind of charm completely different from Kuroko's subtle beauty.

Nevertheless, it always took her by surprise seeing him with his teammates, because back in Japan her boyfriend usually towered over other basketball players, whereas here in the States… Well, here both him and Dai-chan were kind of on the tiny and scrawny side. She teased them about it relentlessly, and apparently so did their teammates, or at least they teased Kagamin, but it was all in good humor, she could see in the friendly way they patted his back when they said their goodbyes.

'Kagamin!' she called to get his attention.

And as he saw them approach, his face brightened. Waving to his teammates, he jogged to meet Satsuki and Kuroko.

'Hey,' he grunted, making Satsuki sigh with a mix of endearment and exasperation: her boyfriend really had to work a little in his communication skills. Although, looking at the way his teammates roughhoused with one another, grunting and growling like a pack of dogs, she had to admit that Kagamin fit right in...

The redhead was well liked amongst his peers. Despite his somewhat reserved nature, he was a straightforward kind of guy and he loved the game from the bottom of his heart, so his teammates had warmed to him quickly enough. Dai-chan on the other hand… Let's just say Aomine liked making things difficult.

As if summoned by her thoughts, her childhood friend suddenly stormed out of the gym, actually pushing one of his teammates out of the way and completely ignoring Kuroko, Kagami and Satsuki.

'Dai-chan!' she called after him, appalled by his behavior and inevitably a bit concerned for him.

He halted, as if realizing for the first time that they were there, and grumpily crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for all three of them to catch up.

'What was that for?' asked Satsuki when they reached him.

He tched and put his hands on his pockets, starting towards their house.

'Dai-chan!' she demanded.

'Just let me be, Satsuki,' he drawled as if annoyed by her interest. 'Come on, let's go.'

He was utterly infuriating!

The four of them walked in silence. But unlike the tranquil quietness she had shared with Tetsu-kun mere minutes ago, now the air was tense and uncomfortable. In the end, predictably enough, it was Kuroko who cut the chase.

'If Aomine-kun is going to be in a hissy fit all afternoon…' he started, and Satsuki knew even without looking how the condescending tone would get to Dai-chan.

It did. Throwing his bag to the floor, he turned in anger towards them.

'The fucking coach won't let me play, okay?' he growled.

Kagami placed and gentle hand on Kuroko's shoulder to move him away in order to approach Aomine. Before the later had a chance to direct his anger towards anything/anyone else, Kagami took hold of his forearm.

'You know why,' the redhead told his former rival, looking him straight in the eye, 'You hog the ball and you won't play with the others. The coach won't stand for that.' Aomine snarled arrogantly and tried to get free, but Kagami didn't let go. 'No, listen. You gotta play with the team. You know how to, I know you do. You play with me all the time and back in Teiko you played with Kuroko. You know how to play with others.'

'It's not the same,' argued Aomine in his deep rumble, getting more frustrated by the second, 'You are where you are supposed to be! You know what I'm going to do, but the others…'

Kagami didn't let him finish.

'Get to know them!' he said, his hand clenching on Aomine's forearm as if trying to get his point across through physical contact as well as words, 'There are really awesome players in the team. You've seen it. But you don't trust them and they can't trust you because of that.'

Aomine looked away.

'It's tiresome, Kagami. They bore me and I don't need them to score.'

'No you don't,' conceded the redhead, however, his tone suddenly lowered and the change made Aomine look back at him, 'but you need them to _play_. If you want to keep playing basketball, you need to start relaying on your teammates. That one time… You know that's what made all the difference.'

Aomine actually flinched. Satsuki knew which event Kagamin was talking about: it had to be the Winter Cup, when Seirin —and particularly Kuroko and Kagami— had gotten the best of Aomine through sheer force of will and team-play alone. She glanced at Tetsu-kun then, trying to get his take on the whole situation, but the silent boy's eyes were riveted to the other two.

'You can do it,' continued Kagami in that quiet intent tone he hardly ever used, 'I know you can.'

And suddenly all tension left Aomine's body, who sighed deeply as his shoulders sagged. With the hand that wasn't being restrained, the tanned boy patted Kagami on the shoulder, letting the other know without words that he had gotten the point. And Kagami nodded in answer, tightening his grip on Aomine's forearm once before letting go and stepping back.

'Sheesh, acting like a know-it-all. It doesn't suit you, Bakagami!'

'Stupid, Ahomine! Get your head out of your ass!'

And even though the exchange of insults had been an attempt at normalicy, the rest of the walk home was uncomfortable. Satsuki tried to fill the silence with chattering about her day, but she could tell that neither of the boys were listening to her. The stop by the supermarket was non-remarkable too (they got some dog food, the fruit loops, some milk... But not even the gravure magazines on the stand next to the cashier improved Dai-chan's mood). When they finally arrived home, Nigou met them at the door, barking happily and wagging his tale, but Aomine made himself scarce by calling dibs for the shower.

No sooner was he out of ear-shot , however, that Kuroko turned to Kagami.

'Is he giving you a hard time, Kagami-kun?' he asked, surprising both the redhead and Satsuki with his question.

'Me? No, not at all,' reassured Kagamin trying to shoo Nigou away without much success (Nigou was not a lil fluff ball any more, much to his chagrin, and his sheer size made shooing him impossible), but when he noticed Kuroko's serious eyes, a strange expression took hold of his own features, an expression which Satsuki couldn't quite interpret. 'But…'

'But…?' prodded Tetsu-kun gently.

'But you should see him, Kuroko…' Kagami finally confessed as if he was sharing a secret, something which he had kept close to his chest for a long time now. And once he began talking, it was as if he couldn't stop. 'The players here… They are much more of a challenge and Aomine…' He paused, seemingly unable to find the right words to describe what he was thinking. By now, though, Satsuki had made sense of his wide eyes and arching eyebrows. Kagami shook his head in astonishment and his lips curved into a dumb-looking smile. 'He's unbelievable. The things he does, the way he _moves_. Even the coach is impressed! His basketball is…' Kagami ran a hand through his hair, apparently still at a loss for words even though his face alone spoke volumes, 'Now that our opponents are stronger, you wouldn't believe the things he's capable of! He can go all out. He is... He...' he laughed as if unable to do anything else. 'You should see him play, Kuroko.'

Nevertheless, Tetsu-kun sighed unimpressed and, even if it came out as a quiet barely audible sound (he never did anything loudly), his frustration was crystal-clear.

'_But_ he still struggles with teamwork,' concluded Kuroko.

And Kagami could only shrug his shoulders.

Kuroko frowned in response, and Satsuki could have sworn that she saw a determined glint in his eye.

'Stupid Aomine-kun…' he muttered to himself as he made his way to the stairs, 'So stubborn, he never learns…'

'Tetsu-kun,' called Satsuki, 'where are you going?'

'To knock some sense into that guy's thick skull,' he said without missing a beat.

'But... Now?'

'Now.'

And he wasn't joking either, his steps were determined and his shoulders set as he went up the stairs and disappeared down the hallway.

Kagami gulped audibly besides Satsuki as they heard a door slam open and closed.

'Aomine is so dead… A pissed of Kuroko is scary.'

He turned to look at Satsuki then, and his expression changed as soon as he laid eyes on her… She knew why. She could feel the heat on her cheeks and the blush extending all the way to her ears.

'Satsuki, what…?'

Oh dear…

'Tetsu-k…' Her voice cracked and she had to start again. 'Tetsu-kun looked very driven, didn't he?'

Kagamin scratched his head in confusion.

'Yeah, yes he did. So?'

Impossibly, Satsuki felt her blush get even worse.

'Well, Dai-chan did say he'd be in the shower…'

And when the picture of what their two friends could be up to that very second formed in the redhead's mind, poor Kagamin turned beet red.

'Sa-Satsuki!'

Thankfully, she didn't think she could get any redder herself. Kagamin was not so lucky, though. And seeing him cover his eyes like a blushing virgin and groan as he valiantly tried to erase the steamy image from his head, Satsuki couldn't help the nervous chuckle that escaped her.

However, even though at the time the whole situation _had _seemed kind of funny (in a semi-masochistic kind of way), the lack of intimacy in their house would soon become an issue.

Tbc.

Hahaha, am I evil or what? Anyways, soon i'm going to have to start posting parts of the chapters somewhere else, due to 's age restrictions, hint hint! On a more innocent note: one of you guys asked about the Mira-gens... Well, maybe one or two or them will make an appearance, _maybe_, but at the moment it's not plotted this way. Anyways, I hope the slow development is not boring you! See ya next week.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

One might believe they know a person, but it takes sharing a household to actually get to know them, because only then does someone's true character come through. Satsuki had stumbled upon this realization after the first five months living together with the boys, and her new findings had been... Unexpected, to say the least. Dai-chan was Dai-chan and he would always be so, Satsuki knew him better than she knew herself and therefore hardly anything he did ever took her by surprise, but the other two...

Truth be told, Kagami obsessive compulsive tidiness sometimes got to her. Yes, _obsessive compulsive,_ because even if he hid it well behind his tough guy attitude, he was worse than Satsuki's mother. For example, no matter how tired he was Kagami simply couldn't go to bed if there were dirty dishes on the sink. _It brings roaches _—he had said once with the same kind of weariness he reserved for Nigou. And it made her roll her eyes since a mere couple of dirty glasses never killed anybody. On the one hand, she was aware that her sullenness wasn't fair because he was rarely pushy about it —unless the other's messiness/dirtyness/lazyness got really out of hand, more often than not Kagami ended doing everything himself rather than fight about whose turn it was to wash the dishes, throw the trash out or even do the laundry. However, unknowingly he made her feel kind of useless because, awful gender stereotypes aside, not only was he a pretty decent handyman but also a much better housewife that Satsuki could ever hope to be. And sometimes it got on her nerves but other times it actually concerned her, because that painstaking need for order seemed to go beyond a mere personality quirk and hinted at a childhood trauma of some sort. But Kagami rarely talked about himself and Satsuki was hardly a psychologist, so she tried to accept his neatness as part of who he was and not gave it too much thought. Besides, the other two seemed pretty happy having Kagami picking up after them.

Satsuki wouldn't have guessed in a million years that Tetsu was kind of on the messy side. It's not that he was inconsiderate of others, not at all, but he could be as absentminded as Dai-chan and if left to his own devices his stuff began taking over their living space. Like their owner, you didn't realize they were there till you stumbled upon them and specifically his misplaced books had become a real safety hazard: once Satsuki had actually fallen down the stairs after tripping over a forgotten tome of Shakespearean poetry. At least the painful/shameful incident had motivated Tetsu to try to keep his books within the room he shared with Dai-chan (and how those two ever found anything in that den was a wonder), but unfortunately Kagami's OCD had gotten even worse since... And oh how she hated when her boyfriend unknowingly impersonated her own mother almost perfectly when he sighed in resignation before picking up and folding Satsuki's discarded cloths. What was wrong with her supposedly dirty socks at the foot of the couch? Where they really so offensive? She wasn't the one with the huge smelly feet, mind you. To be fair Kagami really wasn't trying to be condescending, but his attitude occasionally got on her nerves.

At the end of the day, though, and considering their tight living spaces, it was kind of difficult not being in each others faces now and then.

Satsuki had to admit that the house itself was nice enough: two bedrooms and a bathroom in the top floor and a living room with an attached kitchenette and a second bathroom in the ground floor. It wasn't big by any means, but it was very well situated and had a gorgeous garden (Kuroko had forced them to pick the weeds their very first week so that Nigou could play in peace). Better yet, their front yard had a small paved area which led to a hardly ever used garage, and the first thing Aomine did when they arrived was hang a hoop on the wall above it (where he got it, Satsuki didn't even dare to ask...).

However, on the downside the lack of privacy in the tiny household was meant to create some inevitable tension. In the mornings toilet-time in particular had become an issue because, even though they had two bathrooms, only the one upstairs had a bath/shower, and the four of them waked up at around the same time for classes. Okay, so Satsuki herself hoarded the bathroom, but she was the only girl in the household and thus it should have been expected and understood (and here she was happy enough to stick to gender stereotypes to argue her point). However, unfortunately her main competitor when it came to shower quality time was Dai-chan and, unlike the other two, there was no arguing/reasoning with her childhood friend when he felt entitled to something.

'Dai-chaaaan, can you please hurry up?!' she begged for the eleventh time that morning, knocking on the bathroom's door as annoyingly as she could. 'Come ooon!'

'Get lost, Satsuki,' he drawled through the door, his voice muffled by the running water of the shower, 'Sheesh, woman, give me five minutes.'

'Five? More like fifty! Daiki you selfish oaf!' she shouted back. The nerve of that guy!

Did he really have to take his sweet time in the shower? Really? How much grooming could a man possibly need? He would be sweating like a pig as soon as he hit the court anyways! Did he really have to spend 20 minutes in the shower? For God's sake, Satsuki had had to fight him since they were three years old to even get him to comb his hair (and she had never forgiven him for passing her lice that one time in primary school!), so this strange love for the shower that he had developed as of late was unexpected and un-welcomed.

'Dai-chaaaan! Please, I'm going to be late!'

This time he didn't even answer back and there was nothing she hated more in the world than him playing dumb/deaf. Satsuki cried in frustration, both at him and at herself. She shouldn't have slept in, not today when she had a presentation at uni to which she couldn't afford to be late! But did Dai-chan really have to be a jerk this particular morning? She had been begging for at least ten minutes and he hadn't even attempted to hurry, the bastard!

'Aomine-kun, for real! I'll drag you out of there if I have to.'

Nothing. Fed up, Satsuki made up her mind and decided that if he was going to be a rude prat, then she could give him a taste of his own medicine. Mind made up, she smirked evilly as she tried the doorknob and, just like she had expected, he had indeed forgotten to lock it. Silly Dai-chan... In the court he might be the most unpredictable player she had ever seen, but off it he was so obvious that it was kind of ridiculous. Preparing herself to be flashed, she threw the door wide open and stormed right into the bathroom, hands on her hips and chin tilted up.

'That's it, out you go!'

Dai-chan actually slipped, but he regained his balance quickly enough.

'Shit, Satsuki, can't a guy get some alone time in this fucking house!'

And that's when her eyes inevitably drifted down his naked body to his very obvious and quite impressive erection. Poor Satsuki turned so red that she probably burst a couple of blood vessels. Aghast, she screeched like a banshee, covered her eyes as best she could in her stupor and tried to exit the bathroom. However, as she wasn't really seeing where she was going, instead she bumped clumsily into the door and nearly knocked herself out. An instant later Dai-chan was by her side in all his naked glory, and Satsuki could have died from mortification when they heard Kagami calling from downstairs, asking if everything was alright.

'Mind your own business, Bakagami!' replied Aomine in a growly voice that didn't quite hide the husky quality of it. And just hearing it made Satsuki blush even harder!

'Good morning to you too, Ahomine!' Came Kagami's voice, making Aomine growl and rub his neck in annoyance.

Next to him a blushing Satsuki slipped from his grasp and threw a towel at his face.

'Will you cover yourself up already?!' she begged miserably.

At least his raging erection had flagged considerably. Oh, God, this had to be the single most embarrassing moment in her life!

Dai-chan wrapped the towel around his hips and tched sulkily. He was behaving very naturally about the whole thing, but even his tan complexion couldn't quite hide his subtle blush —not as if Satsuki could look him in the eye either at this particular point, mind you.

'Sheesh, Satsuki,' he complained running a hand through his short hair, 'you have seen me naked tons of times, so stop acting like a prude.'

'A prude?!' she cried out, 'Excuse me but I've never seen you touching your... Ah!' She couldn't even say it, it was so embarrassing! 'And don't do that in the shower, you big pervert, we all use it!'

'Eh?! And where else would I fucking jerk off, Satsuki?' His hands left the towel to gesticulate in frustration and the poor girl covered her eyes again just in case.

'The towel, the towel!' she fretted.

'Oh, come on! It's not as if this is the first time you have walked in on me, don't you remember that time when—'

'Shut up, Dai-chan! If it happened I erased it form my mind.'

'Tch, you don't sound like such a prude when you have Kagami—'

Satsuki threw the hand-soap at his head.

And that was it. They left it at that and they never brought it up again. However, that didn't mean she was actually able to erase the incident from her mind. Shameful as it was, she couldn't stop wondering about... Well, Daiki and sex were two words that she had always tried not to use in the same sentence, because if she did eventually her thoughts turned to Tetsu and if they did... Let's just say that Satsuki had been trying very hard not think of Tetsu in a sexual manner since she had started going out with Kagamin.

However, now she couldn't help it. She kept thinking about that time a few days ago when Tetsu had confronted Aomine in the shower and, now that she had seen half of the equation her traitorous imagination was quick to supply the other half... And Tetsu looked beautiful in her mind, smiling impishly and with his soulful eyes regarding _her_ from underneath wet bangs. She thought about his gentle hands and pale skin, about his slight frame which was really so compatible with her own, about his quiet sighs and soft panting when he played basketball. Quiet. Tetsu-kun was always so quiet... In bed he had to be even more so. Satsuki was sure that when he made love, the most loving whimpers would scape Kuroko's sweet lips: she would pleasure him just to hear those soft sighs, and how she would love to have him murmuring sweet nothings in her ears, no louder than a whisper, while he caressed her body till she was breathless.

And the fantasy was beautiful, but reality _always_ found a way to bring her back to earth.

Because as gentle as Kagamin was when they had sex, as considerate as he tried to be for the sake of Satsuki's pleasure, he was still Kagami: blunt, straightforward and just that tiny bit overwhelming. And Satsuki loved him dearly, but he wasn't Tetsu-kun...

And it should have frustrated her —it had for a while when the four of them first moved in to live together, because then Tetsu couldn't be closer but farther from her at the very same time—, but ever since the shower incident... Somehow Kuroko had wormed his way back into her lizard brain, and since then, shamefully, Satsuki's sex life had improved considerably since distressingly as it was just imagining Kuroko made any sex she had all that more enjoyable.

And it was unfair to Kagamin, because he loved her so much and tried so hard to please her, but deep down Satsuki didn't really feel guilty about it because, intense as they were, her fantasies were simply that: fantasies. At the end of the day, the one she was building a life with and the person she slept next to every night was Kagamin, and that was what was important. Who cared who she fantasized about? Everyone had kinks and fetishes, she just happened to be a bit Tetsu-obsessed. But as long as she felt happy with Kagamin and Kagamin with her, well, who cared if dream-Tetsu made her sexual experiences a bit more interesting? The two of them were happy together and Kagamin probably had fantasies of his own, right?

Turning on her side as she lay in bed, she glanced at the wall on the other side of the room, the wall that separated her from the bed Kuroko shared with Dai-chan. Tetsu-kun... It was always quiet on the other side, which came as no surprise either because Tetsu-kun always had had a calming effect on Dai-chan and he himself had such a subtle presence that it was easy to forget he even lived on their house. However, sometimes she heard Dai-chan's laughter from the room next door or his half of an animated conversation, and she felt reassured that Tetsu was there. All things considered, the two of them were a fairly quiet and reserved couple. However... Maybe precisely because of that she was so curious about the pair's bedroom activities. It shamed her to admit it as she felt like a deviant trying to listen in on them but, well, the whole thing was really Dai-chan's fault for flashing her in the first place!

Sighing in frustration, she turned to face her own partner again.

'Kagamin?' she started, poking him gently on his strong chest to get his attention.

'Hm?' we grunted back sleepily, opening his eyes and yawing widely before smiling at her.

Sheesh, this was going to be an awkward conversation, but if she couldn't ask her own boyfriend about a perfectly normal inquiry regarding male physiology, then who could she possibly ask? Despite her reasoning, though, Satsuki found it easier to look at his well defined clavicles rather than his eyes.

'Satsuki?' he sounded content and sleepy as he always did after sex.

'Do you ever...? You know...'

Fighting to overcome her embarrassment, she gestured subtly with her hand, an up and down motion close to her groin.

She felt Kagamin choke on his own saliva.

'Satsuki, no way you just...'

'Do you or do you not, Kagamin?' she asked pointedly, too bashful for any other approach. And why wasn't he answering straight away? Come on, he supposed to be the blunt one in this relationship!

Kagami shifted slightly in place. She heard him lick his lips in though and felt him swallow. After as short pause, his arms tightened around her waist and he shrugged his shoulders.

'Well, now and then. Not that much really since we got together. Mostly when you are busy and don't wanna, you know...' He cleared his throat then, blushing adorably all the way down to his chest, but then he had to ruin it by saying: 'Ehm... Do you?'

And he seemed genuinely interested too, the pervert!

'Kagami-kun!' she chastised, pushing him away and putting a pillow between them for good measure. The nerve of him!

'Sorry, sorry,' he amended quickly. However, he wasn't going to be back in Satsuki's good graces any time soon (what kind of perverted boyfriend asks his girl if or how often she masturbates?!).

Besides her, Kagamin covered his eyes with his forearm and groaned loudly.

'You know, Satsuki,' he said, 'Aomine is right, you do send mixed signals.'

Satsuki blushed.

'I do not.'

'You get me all worked up with your tricky questions and then you give me the cold shoulder. That's cruel.'

Taken aback by his words she looked at him. Kagamin seemed even more upset than when Dai-chan had eaten all his fruit loops. And she had to admit that the kicked puppy look kind of got to her...

Besides, _maybe_ it was kind of unfair to get angry at him for asking something that she had probed him about first. Sighing, she moved the pillow out of the way and crawled her way back to his chest.

'Kagamin looks funny when he pouts...' she said teasingly in an attempt to make up with him.

And he removed his forearm from his face to glance suspiciously at her. His hand moved to tuck a stray lock of her hair behind her ear.

'Maybe funny to you...' but his lips twitched up nonetheless. And even if Kagamin wasn't Kuroko, when he smiled she felt like she could fall in love with him all over again, because his grin was so genuine and transparent and, most importantly, Satsuki loved how _she _had put it there in the first place. Plus, she had always thought that Kagamin looked very handsome when he smiled.

Feeling mischievous all of a sudden, she poked him in the nose.

'So I got you all worked up, huh?'

Kagami chuckled in defeat.

'You have no idea...'

'You are just easy,' she teased.

And Kagami's funny eyebrows rose high in his forehead. A few seconds later Satsuki actually laughed when he rolled her over and lounged at her.

The morning after, Satsuki felt well rested and quite cheerful. Even though she hadn't really gotten over Tetsu-kun, she had found some kind of equilibrium and the life she led made her happy. She and Kagamin were a good match . They complemented each other nicely. And despite both being very busy, they always found time to spend together. In the evenings, for example, as he prepared dinner she would sit by the little counter that separated the kitchen from the living room and review out loud her notes from the law courses they two of them attended (even though Kagami was hell bent on Basketball, he had matriculated in Law). It helped both of them study, him because he memorized better when someone explained things to him and her because simply repeating and explaining to someone else helped fix the lessons better in her mind. It was nice and homey and she got to try Kagamin's fabulous dishes before anyone else in the house! This night in particular she felt specially lucky because he was going out of his way preparing a steak that had had her salivating from the moment the first waft of meat and spices reached her nostrils. Oh dear god but could he cook! Usually he didn't have time for preparing such a dish, but tonight was special, as his basketball team had experienced their very first official victory in the national championship.

Satsuki and Tetsu had been there cheering for the team, she shouting at the top of her lungs and him gripping tightly the edge of his seat, breath held and heart beating wildly. And what a show it had been. The other team was good and it had been a hard earned victory, but their university's team was a force to be reckoned with, and now that Kagami and Aomine had joined them... Well, it had been an amazing match.

Kagami might not be the tallest or strongest player in court, but he was like a bulldozer, pushing and pushing and pushing forwards till his team made it to the hoop. His will was overwhelming and his capacity to work with and read his teammates (an ability he had learned from Kuroko) made him unstoppable. And Aomine... Satsuki could see him struggling to hold his instincts back, fighting tooth and nail against the need to grab the ball and sidestep every single player on the court —teammates and opponents alike—, but he was managing to do so and the more he played... The more amazing it was. Because his game was by nature unpredictable and by passing, by _sharing_, he was making his own team's play just as unreadable and irrepressible.

However, it was when her two boys played together that it truly became enchanting. Because Aomine and Kagami had been playing with each other for years now (during matches as opponents but also one on ones on the streets, day after day after class throughout highschool), and so they had come to know each other so well that the former could play with the later purely on instinct. And it was simply amazing because Aomine could tear open the gates of the Zone at will and Kagami always followed him right through: no holding back, going all out, the court was theirs and it didn't even matter who actually made it to the hoop, because when the two of them played together (be it as opponents or teammates) for an instant everything else ceased to exist. It was basketball at its essence and it was truly a privilege to watch.

When the whistle announced the end of the match and with it their team's victory, Kagami had actually been dog-piled by his more than impressed teammates and some of the most daring ones had even patted Dai-chan on the back. However, most important of all, when her childhood friend made his way back to the bench, the _coach_ had actually given Dai-chan a subtle nod, making Satsuki sigh in relief: he was securing his position in the starting lineup. Satsuki couldn't have been more proud of him, and if the way Tetsu-kun clasped Dai-chan's hand in his for a moment the instant they caught up with them was any indication, Kuroko couldn't have been more pleased and impressed either. What surprised her, though, was Dai-chan's tight lipped smile. Despite the victory and approval of his coach and teammates, somehow Aomine still felt on edge.

His strange mood lasted all the way till dinner. And that's when Satsuki began to note other things as well: the subtle bags beneath his eyes, the permanent frown in his brow, the tension on his frame... Why was he so on edge? Aomine had merely had a bite of Kagami's steak when he pushed the plate away as if in distaste and stood up, leaving the table without so much as a glance in their direction.

'Dai-chan, where are you going?' asked Satsuki, completely confused by his behavior.

'I'm not hungry,' he said dismissively, making his way to the stairs, 'gonna crash early.'

'That's extremely rude, Aomine-kun.' Kuroko didn't even look up from his steak, but his tone alone made Dai-chan pause. Tetsu finished chewing and shallowed, proceeding to carefully cut another small piece of meat. 'Kagami-kun spent hours cooking for us even though he's just as tired. Show some gratefulness, please.'

A strange tension suddenly filled the room. Wondering if they were missing something, Kagami and Satsuki glanced at each other in confusion before the redhead added:

'It's ok, Kuroko,' and turning to his teammate, he said courteously, 'I'll save some steak for you, so that you can have some tomorrow.'

Satsuki saw how Aomine's whole posture changed in an instant, going from bored lazy-ass to arrogant-asshole in a matter of seconds.

'I don't want your fucking steak, Kagami,' he said cuttingly, surprising everyone on the table, 'gorge on it for all I care.'

Feathers ruffled, Kagami pushed his own chair back and strode to Aomine.

'What the fuck is your problem?' he demanded, poking him in the chest.

'You two are my fucking problem!' replied Aomine even more aggressively, pushing Kagami's hand away as if disgusted by the contact.

'Dai-chan!' began Satsuki an instant before Kuroko himself intervened:

'Aomine-kun...' something in Tetsu's tone was threatening (even Nigou could hear it, who fled the room immediately sensing his master's anger) but Aomine paid it no mind.

'What?! I just want to get some fucking sleep while I can!' he said haughtily, 'Let me fall asleep before these two freaks begin bumping the bed next door.'

The accusation shocked all three of them so badly that time froze in their living room. Kagamin turned beet red and Satsuki knew that her own face couldn't look much better.

On the other hand, Kuroko became pale as a ghost and visibly tensed all over.

'_Daiki_,' he said, and Satsuki had rarely heard him sound so pissed off or, now that she thought about it, refer to the other by his first name before.

Sensing a fight, Kagami intervened yet again.

'Sorry, man,' he told Aomine, hands up in a pacifying gesture. 'We didn't realize...'

'The fuck you didn't!' But Aomine had decided to be difficult. 'Give me a break! Can't you freaks keep it down? Does she have to scream like a fucking whor-'

Tetsu stood up suddenly, his movements so uncharacteristically harsh that the table rattled, which made the tea he had been drinking spill all over.

'Stop. Now.' His voice was deadly quiet.

Aomine's lips curved into a mocking smirk.

'Of course it wouldn't bother you, you piece of...'

Kuroko pushed his chair out of the way and left the table.

'That's it,' he told Aomine as he reached the stairs, 'We are done.'

Aomine flinched as if slapped. However, as soon as he recovered his wits, the arrogance was firmly back in place again.

'See if I care...' he murmured to none one in particular as he left the house slamming the door loudly behind him.

Her first instinct was to run after him, but she was so shocked by what she had just witnessed that by the time she moved and made it to the door he was nowhere in sight. Oh no...

Had they broken up then? For real? Just like that? It was ridiculous and unbelievable. And yet, that seemed to be exactly what had happened.

That night Aomine didn't sleep at home. The morning after he didn't show up for class and neither did he to practice. He didn't answer his phone when she tried calling him and Satsuki was on the verge of a nerve attack. Before, back in Japan, she would have known all of his hiding places but here... Had they really drifted apart so much that she didn't know where to find him anymore? How stupid was she?! She hadn't even realized that they had indeed drifted apart. Oh, Dai-chan...

Worried as she was, she attempted to speak with Kuroko to try to find out if her idiotic childhood friend had actually spoken to him since their falling out, but Tetsu avoided her and Kagami like the plague. And when Kuroko wanted to be invisible, well, it was like trying to grasp the wind: impossible.

On the third day since Dai-chan had walked out on them, Satsuki and Kagami managed to corner Kuroko when he came back home from walking Nigou. However...

'I haven't talked to him either. I'm sorry, Momoi-san.' He seemed so cold...

'Have you tried calling him?' begged Satsuki.

'No.'

'Will you?' And seeing the hesitation on his eyes, she grabbed his hands and came close to tears. 'Please, Tetsu-kun. Who knows what that idiot has managed to get himself into. Please.'

Sighing softly, Kuroko took his phone from his pocket and dialed Aomine's number.

_The mobile you are calling is not available..._

Kuroko closed the lid of his phone and regarded her with tired eyes.

'Sorry' he apologized even if he had no reason to.

And next to him Kagami grunted before averting his eyes and offering an apology of his own.

'Kuroko. I don't understand, but I'm sorry...'

'It's not your fault, Kagami-kun. And neither is it Momoi-san's.' Kuroko was quick to reassure, voice strong despite its softness. 'This has been an on-going issue between the two of us. It has nothing to do with either of you. I apologize for his behavior. You didn't deserve his rude words.'

_An on-going issue?_ Had they been fighting then? If so, for how long and why had Satsuki not known about it? They lived in the same house, for god's sake, and Dai-chan was supposed to be her best friend! Why hadn't he trusted her? What's more, why hadn't she heard anything about it? They had seemed so normal, the two of them. So at ease with each other that she would have never guessed...

'Tetsu-kun...'

'Goodnight, Momoi-san. Kagami-kun.'

The dismissal couldn't have been more obvious. Satsuki and Kagami left for bed after uttering their own goodnights whilst Tetsu stayed up for who knew how long, quietly writing in the living room surrounded by a wall of spread books and papers. Despite the big purple bags under his eyes, he didn't seem able to sleep. And even if he was behaving coldly, he wouldn't be having trouble sleeping if he wasn't worried too.

That night, Satsuki had a pitiful sleep. She kept dreaming about that time when she and Dai-chan had been five years old and, during a family holiday, he had gotten himself stuck in a well trying to rescue Satsuki's doll. Back then it had started to rain, and Satsuki had truly believed he would drown. Eventually, she had found their parents when Dai-chan managed to persuade her to leave his side, but she had been so terrified for him. And now she kept trashing in bed, remembering her friend's muddy face in the dark bottom of that well, trying to smile reassuringly for her sake.

_Creak, Thump!_

A noise startled her awake. Disconcerted, she looked around herself. Kagami slept restlessly beside her and beyond him the clock in the nightstand read 03.00 am. Had she dreamed the noise? Or could it possibly be... The door! Trying to move quietly for Kagami's sake (the red-head had also had trouble sleeping and he needed the rest), she left the bed as quickly as she could and closed the door behind her, tiptoeing her way down the hallway to the stairs. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that it was indeed Dai-chan who stood by the door.

He looked scruffy and worse for wear, but overall he seemed uninjured. Satsuki would have run down the stairs, either to kiss him or whack him, she wasn't sure, but his stillness halted her. And that's when she remembered Tetsu-kun.

Kuroko was still on the couch, watching Aomine quietly from behind his mountain of books. After a couple of tense seconds in which the two boys regarded each other wearily, Tetsu moved as if to stand up from the couch and Aomine left the door.

'Wait,' he said as he took a couple of steps towards Tetsu, his voice scratchy.

Kuroko stopped but kept his eyes downcast. Aomine's followed suit, drifting to his own feet as if in shame.

'I...' he started with difficulty, rubbing the back of his head, 'I'm sorry, Tetsu.'

_That_ made Kuroko glance at him, surprise evident on his face. After a couple of seconds, the quiet boy shook his head.

'No,' he murmured with hardly any inflection, 'we knew this would be a problem from the start. I understand, you can't...'

Aomine went to him, crossing the room in a couple of strides till his knees touched the couch.

'No, no. Listen, I... I have been frustrated...' he started in a low growl, unable to hold Kuroko's eyes, 'I have to hold back all the time, Tetsu. In practice, at games, with the team...' he sighed, 'Sheesh, there is also the courses, the exams, the projects and the fucking English. It's difficult. And then hearing them... It got to me, ok? Because of all the pent-up energy, I don't know. But this has nothing to do with you, with us.' And then he finally glanced at Kuroko, sincerity in his eyes despite his struggle for words, 'We... We _work_, Tetsu. So don't...'

He was at a loss. And it pained Satsuki to see him like this, because for as long as she could remember his pain had been her pain, and never before had she failed him so badly. She hadn't even known he was going through a hard time. Of course she had noticed how he had reverted back to some of his worst habits in the last couple of months, but she hadn't realized that he was struggling that much with the changes in their lives.

Downstairs, Kuroko sighed.

Tetsu wasn't looking at Daiki, instead, he kept his head bowed, but Satsuki saw how his eyes were on Aomine's hands: there was the smallest of trembles in her childhood friend's fingers. Hesitantly, Kuroko reached out and clasped Aomine's hand, tugging gently till the other sat on the couch next to him.

'Tetsu...'

And Kuroko shifted then, rising till he stranded his partner's legs. When they kissed, it was with a hint of desperation. Satsuki saw Aomine's hands clench Tetsu's slight waist so tightly that it had to be hurting the slender boy, but Kuroko simply hushed his partner, whispering quietly against Aomine's lips. He continued doing so till the other relaxed.

And Satsuki would have sighed in relief then, however, a sudden shift in Aomine's breath alerted her, and that's when she realized where Kuroko's hands had actually drifted to... She couldn't see much of anything from her position on the top of the stairs, but the movement of Kuroko's pale arms was unmistakable. White as a ghost herself, Satsuki felt her heart thump loudly in her chest when Aomine groaned quietly and buried his head on Kuroko's soft hair, effectively hiding his expression from view.

'I'm sorry...' she heard him mutter in a heartfelt whisper.

'Don't be,' replied Kuroko even more softly. There was a strange sadness in his voice, the root of which Satsuki couldn't understand. 'We knew from the start. This can't work, this—'

'No!' the desperation was back in Aomine's voice. 'It's enough, Tetsu. This is more than enough, please...'

He actually said _please_ —him, Aomine_ fucking_ Daiki, who had never begged for anything in his life. Kuroko hushed him again and Aomine kissed him, sighing deeply against Kuroko's parted lips:

'I need you.'

'You don't.'

'I do.'

Kuroko leaned in and silenced him with another kiss.

At that point Satsuki looked away, because there was something raw and vulnerable about the whole exchange and she knew it wasn't meant for her eyes to watch. Quietly, she tiptoed her way back to her room.

As soon as she snuggled back under the covers, Kagami startled awake.

'Satsuki?' he asked groggily but becoming more awake by the second.

'It's okay,' she reassured, getting his arms around her and spooning against his strong chest. 'Daiki is back...' She felt Kagami tense over, but before he could leave the bed, she repeated: 'It's okay, he's with Tetsu-kun. They are making up.'

Kagami let out a deep breath and hugged her close.

'I'm glad.'

'I'm glad too,' she murmured.

And despite the sincerity of her words... Satsuki couldn't help nor explain the sudden clenching on her chest.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6 - Part 1

AN: Hello every one. Thank you so much for the wonderful, thoughtful reviews! I wanted to wait to post this till i had the whole chapter written, but since it's been a couple of weeks since i last updated, I thought it would be better to post at least half of it. :)

**6**

PART 1

The morning after, Momoi met Dai-chan on the hallway. Upon seeing each other both friends froze.

'Satsuki...' he started with some reticence, as if afraid of her reaction.

Sighing in resignation, she strode towards him and poked him on the chest with one accusing finger.

'If you ever call me a whore, Dai-chan, I won't forgive you.'

Since she was bent on making a point she was poked him harshly, but little by little one finger became two, and two three, and three a whole palm, which eventually rested against his chest. Even if she was still angry, simply feeling his heartbeat reassured her. She had been so worried for him...

'I didn't mean it,' he said scratching the back of his neck, his voice still somewhat scratchy from disuse.

'You are an idiot,' she said as sternly as she could, though the soft spot she had always had for him prevented her from getting truly angry.

And his lips twitched.

'Well, Satsuki, you _are_ kind of loud.'

'Dai-chan!'

She elbowed him. However, deep down she was kind of relieved that they could joke about it. Huffing, she looked up at him, a mix of exasperation and fondness in her eyes.

Looking at her in return, his smirk softened and he rose his own hand to cradle her cheek. Satsuki turned her head and whispered against the warm skin:

'Don't you ever run off again. I mean it, don't pull something like this ever again, Dai-chan. I was worried sick.'

His thumb moved ever so slightly, the hint of a caress, and he nodded just as softly.

'Promise me,' she asked.

'... Okay,' he said at last.

And Satsuki sighed in relief and moved back.

Later, downstairs, Aomine approached Kagami as the redhead was having breakfast and clasped his shoulder.

'Play with me,' he demanded.

And Kagamin lit up like a Christmas tree, nearly choking on his cereal as he tried to scarf it all down before the other made it to the door.

'Wanna get your ass kicked so badly, Ahomine?' he asked in challenge as he hurried to put on his shoes whilst trying to avoid an excited Nigou. 'Shoo, beast.' He said hopping on one foot, attempting to tie the shoelaces that the dog was happily munching.

'As if,' replied an amused Aomine from the threshold. Even though he held the door open for his struggling rival, he couldn't help encouraging the dog. 'Come on, Nigou, let's show this Bakagami what we've got.'

'Hey, it's not fair if you use the dog against me!' complained the redhead, completely serious. 'Leave the beast out of it and I'll whoop your ass six ways to Sunday!'

Aomine smirked.

'Just you try.'

And the door closed behind them, followed soon by the distinct sound of a ball dribbling and a net whooshing.

Children. The two of them behaved like children, but secretly Satsuki was glad that her boyfriend was willing to let go any hard feelings he might have been harboring for Aomine after their argument.

Next to Satsuki, Kuroko suddenly sighed, starting her so badly that she very nearly spilled her coffee.

'Tetsu-kun! When did you get here?'

He blinked his huge blue eyes.

'I've been here the whole time, Momoi-san.' And he continued sipping his tea calmly.

Shaking her head, Satsuki relaxed once again on her chair and looked at the ceiling.

'Dai-chan can be such an idiot...' she murmured.

Kuroko's fingers tightened ever so slightly on his mug.

'He's never been good at dealing with change. And you know what he's like: Aomine-kun will keep quiet until he breaks...'

_Breaking_ —what a particular verb to chose. When Satsuki thought about their last years at Teiko, that one word accurately described what had happened not only to Dai-chan (though he had been the catalyst) but to the whole team. However, Satsuki didn't think that now they were so close to the edge. After all, circumstances were completely different and they had all learned from their past mistakes and, hopefully, matured.

Discreetly, she turned her eyes to the quiet boy next to her. Kuroko, who sometimes was so transparent whilst others so hard to read. She thought about the scene she had been privy to last night. She recalled the bitterness in the air and her own mixed feelings. Looking at him now, Satsuki thought she could still see the remains of that melancholy on his face.

'You know,' she began very softly, 'Dai-chan is not the only one who keeps things close to his chest till it's too late...'

Kuroko glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

'I'm okay, Momoi-san,' he reassured gently.

And Satsuki folded her hands one on top of the other on the table.

'Tetsu-kun... I know it's not any of my business, not really but... What's going on between you and Dai-chan?'

Despite her gentle tone, he seemed to tense all over.

A heavy silenced filled the kitchen. Even Nigou's barking outside seemed a world away. Satsuki prayed that she hadn't upset him, but she had had to ask.

'Tetsu-kun...'

'It's complicated,' he said at nearly the same time.

Both halted.

'... Complicated?' she ventured.

Kuroko poked the little spoon gently, watching the tea twirl inside his cup.

'Seeing him smile, that's the one thing I want,' he said softly, 'We have been together for years now, and he swears he's happy but... I know I am not what he needs.'

There was a sadness to his words, his voice, his whole demeanor, that made something clench deep within Satsuki's chest. Because how could this incredible wonderful boy ever believe he wasn't good enough for somebody? Kuroko was willful, determined and loyal to a fault. He was gentle and caring. He was beautiful in all possible ways. Subtle, yes, but generous and _beautiful _both outside and inside. That he would believe himself inadequate, deficient or flawed, it pained Satsuki beyond words.

His soulful blue eyes seemed lost and his sweet lips seemed tense and tight. Satsuki wanted to get rid of that deep sorrowful sadness. She wanted to see _him_ smile. Because he deserved it more than anyone else in the world. Because those gentle lips shouldn't know sadness. Those lips... Those lips were as soft as she had always imagined they would be.

Before she knew what she was doing, Satsuki had leaned in and kissed him. A simple brush of lips, a gentle caress. His breath was sweet.

_Thump._

The noise startled them both, breaking them apart. A basketball rolled to her feet, partly deflated. And by the door, there he stood: Kagami, still like a statue and with shoulders tense, watching them both with a dumbstruck look on his face which quickly morphed into something pale and unreadable.

'Kagami-kun...' began Kuroko, quieter than a whisper.

Kagami's intense stare shifted from one to the other.

But nobody dared to say anything.

'Hey, Bakagami, are you getting that ball or what?' interrupted Aomine, approaching the door and peering inside from over his teammate's shoulder, 'Is something the mater?'

With one last charged glance at the table were his girlfriend and best friend sat, Kagami turned heel.

'I'm hungry,' he said with a monotonous voice so unlike himself that it was worrisome. 'I'm going to go catch a bite.'

Bewildered, Aomine looked at his retreating back before sending a confused glance at the pair on the kitchen. As neither was willing to provide an explanation and seeing the other was getting away, he closed the door resolutely behind himself and went after the redhead.

'What the fuck? Wait up, Kagami!' they heard him call. 'Didn't you just have breakfast?'

'You don't have to come if you don't want to,' answered Kagami's retreating voice, angry and tense.

'Eh?! Wait up, moron. Sheesh, what the fuck is wrong with you?'

If Kagami responded, he was already too far away for them to hear him through the walls.

Alone in the kitchen, Kuroko and Satsuki stared at each other. The silence was so thick that it was suffocating her. At it must have felt the same for Kuroko because suddenly he stood up without uttering a word and left the table, leaving her on her own.

Guilty, confused and overwhelmed, Satsuki hid her face behind her hands and cried.

TBC


End file.
